2007+July+12

Mary Dohl Ship’s Log Notes July 12, 2007

Ahoy! It was quite a day of treasure hunting for we pirates. All hands were on deck by 9 am. Cap’n Jeff and Co-Cap’n Steve were in charge, ably assisted by Master Teralyn.

Lisa, the keeper of the log for Thursday, reported the activities of July 11 to the officers and all of the crew. Next Co-Cap'n Steve stood at the prow and demonstrated how to navigate the Technology Zone and showed where to post writing treasures on the vast sea called Internet. (For response from mates, use www.classblogmeister.com. To post to the SCKWP Anthology, use sckwp.workspaces.com. and click on “submit to the anthology”. Finally, for national responses, go to “Open Mic” at www.writingproject.org.)

__Writing Prompt__ - Lisa led the “National Writing Treasure.” Each sailor received a bag containing treasures that were to be used to tell a story. Now we’ve heard that “Dead men tell no tales,” but we proved that living people do! What gems were produced from the booty in the bags! Arrrr! __Teacher Demonstration__ - Terri commanded our attention next. She showed how her 2nd graders are taught rhyme. She incorporated technology (smart board, projected poems, clickers, recordings), cooperative learning (Inside-Out Circle, Rally Table), listening, reading, and writing in her instruction. We enjoyed the riddles, rhymes, and repetition that led to learning. All pirates like to create rollicking sea shanties so this was a good information! __Lunch Writing__ - A hungry pirate can get cranky so we dropped our anchor, let down two jolly boats, and rowed west until we arrived at the Anchor, a bar and grill on the nearby shore. No hardtack for us today! We gave our orders to the serving wench and soon were eating. Then we took our journals in hand and wrote about our surroundings and the patrons in Keisha’s Restaurant. We followed the Code of Conduct so we didn’t crimp any loot from the landlubbers there before we left. __Reader’s Chair__ - We returned to the galleon, weighed anchor, unfurled the sails, and headed for the open seas once more. As we skimmed over the waves, Linda read to us from __The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson__. Now Emily was a lass who knew how to turn mere words into treasures! Linda told us that poetry helps her set her heart and mind straight and improves her as a person. She seems to think there’s hope for all of us scallywags! __Article Summary__ - Hey, me hearties! You know that this course is all about writing so Renee’s report on “Writing as a Mode of Learning” by Janet Emig held our interest next. Renee reported on the different language processes involved in writing. Discussion followed. __Reader’s Response__ - We divided into two groups. Half of the crew stayed fore and the rest went aft. Writers asked others to read their creative treasures and to bless, address, or press their work. There were no oral floggings. Only constructive comments were used. Shiver me timbers! Writing is a grand exercise!

Before we knew it, it was time for the crew to go below deck. We made sure everything was shipshape, wished one another, “Fair winds!” and headed to our quarters wondering where our journey would take us tomorrow.